Step 6: Paint

Step 7: Finish

The rest is simple!Glue the mushroom stem into the capUsing paint or a Sharpie (or similar) marker, draw on eyesHang on your tree and soak up the glor...

Power up your Christmas and give your tree Extra Life with these super cute Super Mario ornaments you can make in an afternoon! They're fast and inexpensive, so go ahead and build an entire Mushroom Kingdom!

Step 1: Materials

Paint (I used red, green and white, but die-hard fans may opt for the original colors: red with orange spots for Super Mushrooms and orange with green spots for 1ups)

Mod podge - this can be found in craft stores, and is used to fill in the pores of the styrofoam to create a smoother painting surface. Alternatively, spackle could be used, and might be quicker in the end.

Glue

Small gauge wire to make a hook (or pre-formed ornament hook)

Wire cutters

X-acto (or similar) knife

Sandpaper

Paint brush and cups for water

Step 2: Shape Your Balls

Carve your styrofoam balls into the appropriate shapes. The larger size will become the mushroom cap and the smaller will become the stem.

Mark both styro balls with cutting lines. Creating cross-mark lines helped me draw a fairly even circle and provided markings for me to help cut away the styrofoam easily.

Cut each of the pieces flat along the lines

On the flat side of the larger piece, mark a circle approximately the size of the circumference of the smaller ball so it will fit inside. Don't worry too much about getting an accurate measurement. Start out on the smaller side and you can always carve away more.

Hollow out the inside of the larger ball, using the circle as a guide. Check to see if the stem piece will fit snugly inside and make adjustments as necessary,

Holding the flat side of each ball flush with the table, sand away the edges to ensure an even, smooth edge. This takes about 2 seconds. Don't overdo it.

Most instructables either sound too expensive (which scares me away from them) or too hard (also scares me away). But this one is great! Seems cheap, looks easy enough and most of all fun! Im going to make both of these and give them to my parents for presents. I am hoping to get them to remember their childhood memories again. :D

I can't tell you how glad i am that you put this up. I have been trying to figure out something to do for my cousin for DAYS now. He loves Super Mario Brothers. i typed that into the search thing, & up popped your instructable! now i have the PERFECT thing to make him. :) thank you SOOO much! :D

I'm in the process of making one of these and I would suggest to others to go with spackling paste. I'm using a slightly watered down consistency and I'm expecting some smooth results. The Mod Podge did a good job of sealing though and it would make sense as a primer before applying a top coat of colored paint.

Just made some with my Daughter. She found a product called "smoothfoam" at Michael's. They are styrofoam balls but, like the name says, they are smooth, so no mod podge needed. I cut a 2.5" ball for the cap and a 2" ball for the body, and sharpie marker for coloring. I used some sandpaper to smooth down a little ring that was on the smoothfoam from the forming process.

Terrific! How many layers of Mod Podge did you need to use to mask the texture of the styrofoam? Great job, BTW. I'm glad I saw this right after Christmas, so I have time to make a bunch for next year. Thanks for posting this very cute instructable.